Iconic McGee Roadster Hot Rod Now Part of the Petersen Automotive Museum Collection

With a rich history in racing, cinematography, and television, the glossy red McGee Roadster ended up in the hands of renowned car collector Bruce Meyer, who has recently donated it to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, thus ensuring that current and future generations of fans are able to enjoy an icon of American hot rod history.

In a recent ceremony, Bruce Meyer symbolically handed over the keys to the legendary 1932 Ford McGee Roadster to Terry L. Karges, executive director of the Petersen Automotive Museum. From now on, the roadster will remain part of the automotive museum’s permanent collection, and visitors will be able to see it on display in the Ross & Beth Myers Gallery.

The Ford McGee Roadster and the Petersen Automotive Museum are connected in more ways than one, as Robert E. Petersen, the man who founded the museum in 1994 is also the founder of the Hot Rod Magazine, the publication that propelled the car to fame. The hot rod was featured on the cover of the October 1948 issue of the magazine, and it was the first street car to do so.

Bruce Meyer, a founding chairman of the Petersen himself, has said, “Hot rods are vital to the entire automotive industry, and Robert Petersen is the man who really brought hot rodding to the people. This car is an important piece of automotive history, and there is no more worthy destination than the Petersen Automotive Museum.”

The history of the McGee Roadster starts in 1947 when renowned hot-rod builder Bob McGee returned from the Philipines, where he served as a Military Police officer during World War II, and found his previous roadster wrecked by a friend. He bought another ‘32 Ford Roadster and modified it with the aim of transforming it into something more. And that he did.

Among the tweaks he performed was a lowered suspension, larger Lincoln Zephyr wheels in the rear, a peaked and filled grille shell, a custom paint job, and leather upholstery done by Summers. He also removed the door handles and added hidden door hinges to make the car look sleeker, replaced the two-piece hood with an easier-to-manage custom three-piece hood, welded the decklid to the rear panel and smoothed the cowl vent, all of which were meant to give the roadster a dramatic yet seamless look.

The modifications didn’t stop at the aesthetic part, though. To squeeze more power out of the car’s Ford V8 engine, McGee fitted Burns dual carb intake manifold, Federal Mogul bronze heads with thermal-flow cooling, and a Filcoolater oil filter.

Dick Scritchfield, the car’s next owner, contributed to the hot rod’s cinematography career by leasing it to movie producers and television shows. The car made appearances in the 1958’s Hot Rod Gang, an episode of Happy Days, Dragnet, and Fantasy Island, which helped it gain even more notoriety. Under Scritchfield’s ownership, the car underwent plenty of additional modifications.

Meyer bought the car in 1992 and did his best - with help from the SO-CAL Speed Shop - to return it to its 1948 Hot Rod Magazine cover specifications with era-correct pieces.

Since then, the McGee Roadster has been shown and won accolades at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and the Grand National Roadster Show, and in 2017, became the only hot rod to be added to the National Historic Vehicle Register.